Before leaving Phoenix last Saturday, we stopped at a place called Kneaders to grab a bite, and a sack of cookies, just in case something should happen and we were trapped in the desert for a couple of hours with no chocolate in the car. The chocolate caramel cookie with sea salt called my name and I gladly took one with me. Whoa….a great deep chocolate flavor with melted caramel sprinkled with crushed pecans and sea salt. Why had I not tasted it before leaving the parking lot to where I would have known to buy 2 dozen of them to get us through the desert. I savored each and every bite. I told Randy how great it was, but I was not about to offer him a taste. I wanted the whole cookie to myself. (I reasoned that if he would have wanted one, he should have bought it instead of the boring oatmeal cookie)

Immediately after arriving at home, I began a search for a deep chocolate cookie that I could combine with caramel and sea salt with pecans. Am making them this time using Hershey’s Caramel-filled kisses, but next time I will use Kraft Caramels which I will cut each on in two and place in the indention when the cookies come out of the oven. By George, I think we have it. I found in my Holiday Cookies a deep chocolate thumbprint that I will use as a base…here is the recipe:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teas baking powder

1/4 teas salt

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 teas vanilla

1 egg yolk

bag of Hershey’s Caramel-filled kisses (Have them unwrapped and ready to place on hot cookie)

Sea Salt

Preheat oven to 325. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in medium bowl.. Set aside.

Combine the butter, sugar and vanilla in a bowl. Mix at medium speed with mixer until creamy. Add the egg yolk and mix until well blended.

Reduce mixer speed to low and add flour mixture. When flour is completely mixed in with butter mixture, shape dough into 1″ balls.

Place 2″ apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Make indention with Thumbie (which can be purchased from Chocolate Castles for $5 plus s&h) or finger (which will get cookie dough under your fingernails, which in turn will make you wish you had ordered a Thumbie)

Bake in preheated oven 10-11 minutes. Remove from oven and place a caramel kiss in center of indention immediately. As the kiss begins to melt, sprinkle with sea salt and crushed pecans.

Makes approximately 3 dozen